Topic: Addicted2DVD's Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon

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Last Man Standing

3.05: Haunted House
When Vanessa tries to relive her PTA glory days by taking over the Halloween haunted house fundraiser for Boyd's school, her ideas prove too scary for him. Now, Mike must find a way to reassure Boyd and help him face his fears.

My Thoughts:

While I like this series.. I don't think it is nearly as good as Tim Allen's first series... Home Improvement. This is especially true when it comes to the Halloween episodes. When I watched last night's episode... it was entertaining enough... but I couldn't help but to think how much better the Halloween episodes were on Home Improvement. So over-all I would say this one was at best a good episode.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Two IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer/Intro | The Chosen One Has Only Just Begun... After her death at the hands of The Master and a summer vacation spent with her father, Buffy returns to Sunnydale in a strangely withdrawn and snappy mood. She's also determined to break off her relationship with Angel and seems a little too eager to renew her Slayer training. But getting Angel out of her blood proves to be harder than she thought. And as the two draw even closer together, their passion erupts into a danger neither of them could have foreseen - affecting not only vampire and Slayer, but all of Buffy's friends and family, and even her Watcher... Episodes: 1. When She Was Bad 2. Some Assembly Required 3. School Hard 4. Inca Mummy Girl 5. Reptile Boy 6. Halloween 7. Lie to Me 8. The Dark Age 9. What's My Line? - Part One 10. What's My Line? - Part Two 11. Ted 12. Bad Eggs 13. Surprise 14. Innocence 15. Phases 16. Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered 17. Passion 18. Killed by Death 19. I Only Have Eyes For You 20. Go Fish 21. Becoming, Part One 22. Becoming, Part Two

Stars:
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
David Boreanaz as Angel
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

My Thoughts:

Last night I finished the second season. This is probably my favorite season of the series. Really like what they did for this season's big bad. Plus this is the season where they introduce a few good characters. We get to meet Spike and Drusilla. And I could be wrong... but if I am not mistaken this is the first time we see Oz as well. At least I don't remember seeing him in any of the season 1 episodes.

Some of my Favorite Episodes:
School Hard
Halloween
What's My Line: Parts 1 & 2
Phases

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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The Bad Seed (1956/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Warner Home Video Director: Mervyn LeRoy Writing: John Lee Mahin (Screenwriter), Maxwell Anderson (Original Material By), William March (Original Material By) Length: 129 min. Rating: NR Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Gage Clarke as Tasker
Jesse White as Emory
Joan Croyden as Miss Fern
William Hopper as Kenneth Penmark
Paul Fix as Richard Bravo
Henry Jones as LeRoy

Plot:
Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) is a well-mannered 8-year-old little lady – and an efficient, unfeeling killer. And in this spellbinding chronicle of evil, whatever Rhoda wants, she ruthlessly gets. Her mother Christine (Nancy Kelly), reluctantly made to see her offspring's moral blindness at work, is heartrendingly torn between the love for the child she bore and grief for Rhoda's victims.

From Maxwell Anderson's stage hit, The Bad Seed ticks like a time bomb under the skillful direction of Mervyn LeRoy, who cast several Broadway production originals, including Kelly (recreating the role that won her a Tony), McCormack and Eileen Heckart. Their harrowing performances captured three of this suspenseful movie's four Academy Award® nominations* – and make this thriller one of the great ones.

*1956 Nominations: Best Actress (Kelly), Supporting Actress (Heckart and McCormack) and B&W Cinematography.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

I never seen this one before today. It is one that was recently recommended to me... and one a friend was kind enough to send me a copy of. I found this to be a very good film. Though it is one that starts off a bit on the slow side... but it don't take long to pull you into the story. Once it does it easily keeps your attention to the very end. This is definitely a classic that is worth watching.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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The Haunted History of Halloween (1997/United States) New Video Writing: Jeff Swimmer (Writer) Length: 45 min. Rating: NR Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: None

Stars:
Harry Smith as Host

Plot:
Every October 31, pint-sized ghouls and goblins wander through neighborhoods knocking on doors and asking for treats... little do they know they're actually carrying out an ancient tradition dating back thousands of years.

Join Harry Smith of CBS's The Early Show as he leads this 3,000-year expedition through the history of the characteristically pagan holiday of Halloween. Discover how the "trick-or-treat" custom originated during the harvest festivals in ancient Ireland when food and sweets were used to coax the dead into remaining in the spirit world. Learn how Christianity tried to co-opt the celebration by turning it into All Saints Day, but how the underlying—and sometimes controversial—dark elements of the holiday have survived.

The HAUNTED HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN takes a capivating journey through the mysterious tales behind the spookiest night of the year.

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This is a DVD I borrowed from the library here recently. I found it had some interesting moments... but for the most part nothing special. No real big surprises... just about what you would expect from such a documentary. While I am not sorry I watched it... I would have preferred to watch one of my favorite TV Show episodes instead.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Three Wikipedia |Trailer/Intro |IMDb | Buffy returns from the big city to find her friends have been battling the forces of evil without her. As she struggles to regain her mother's and her friend's trust, a new Slayer named Faith arrives in town, quickly winning over all of Buffy's friends. But Faith's arrival is just the beginning of new forces Buffy might face. For a few nights later she encounters Angel, who has somehow returned, feral and violent from the hellish demon dimension where Buffy had sent him. But the real demon Buffy must ultimately face is already on this side of the portal, preparing a special graduation day surprise for Sunnydale High. Episodes: 1. Anne 2. Dead Man's Party 3. Faith, Hope & Trick 4. Beauty and the Beasts 5. Homecoming 6. Band Candy 7. Revelations 8. Lovers Walk 9. The Wish 10. Amends 11. Gingerbread 12. Helpless 13. The Zeppo 14. Bad Girls 15. Consequences 16. Doppelgangland 17. Enemies 18. Earshot 19. Choices 20. The Prom 21. Graduation Day (Part 1) 22. Graduation Day (Part 2)

Stars:
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
David Boreanaz as Angel
Seth Green as Oz
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Eliza Dushku as Faith
Emma Caulfield as Anya

My Thoughts:

I just finished watching the third season now. This one... while I enjoyed every moment of... isn't what I would call a favorite season. I didn't care much for the big bad for this season. But I did like how they said goodbye to High School life. This season introduces 2 more characters... first we have Faith... the newest slayer. And then we have Anya... the demon turned normal teenage girl. Not surprised... but I found myself hooked on this series again. Seems I will be starting season 4 here shortly.

Favorite Season 3 Episodes:
Faith, Hope & Trick
The Wish
Doppelgangland
The Prom
Graduation Day Parts 1 & 2

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Brian Keene's Ghoul (2012/United States) IMDb |Trailer | Image Entertainment Director: Gregory M. Wilson Writing: William M. Miller (Screenwriter) Length: 81 min. Rating: NR Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Stephen Alderfer as Injured Miner
Tim Bell as Martin Kreider / Ghoul
Jacob Bila as Doug Keiser
Sean Braud as Miner
Chelsea Bruland as Deb Lentz
Barry Corbin as Grandfather

Plot:
Something ghastly haunts Golgotha Cemetery – an entity of unspeakable evil…and insatiable hunger. It is the summer of 1984, a time that should be full of lazy, carefree days for 12-year-old Timmy (Modern Family’s Nolan Gould) and his two best friends, Doug and Barry. But when a teenaged couple goes missing among the gravestones of the local cemetery, the bloodcurdling legend of a horrific ghoul begins to seem more like reality than myth. As the body count rises, Timmy and his friends are forced to confront their worst fears when they unearth long-buried secrets and unleash not only their personal demons…but also the one lurking underground! Based on the novel by Brian Keene comes GHOUL, a tale of terror about the convergence of monstrous inhumanity and a ravenous, inhuman monster.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

This is a film that the Chiller Channel put out. While I have seen better.... I found this one to be worth the time put in to watch it. Kind of like a horror version of Goonies. But don't jump at it thinking it will be as good as Goonies... not so. It really is more or less an average horror TV Movie.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Insidious (2011/United States) Trailer |IMDb |Wikipedia | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Director: James Wan Writing: Leigh Whannell (Writer) Length: 103 min. Rating: Rated PG-13 : Thematic Material, Violence, Terror and Frightening Images, and Brief Strong Language Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Patrick Wilson as Josh Lambert
Rose Byrne as Renai Lambert
Ty Simpkins as Dalton Lambert
Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier
Leigh Whannell as Specs
Angus Sampson as Tucker

Plot:
From the makers of Paranormal Activity, INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• BD-Live

My Thoughts:

This is one that was recently given to me... just got it yesterday. It is one I never seen before. Reading other's reviews is seems this one is pretty much evenly divided between those that like it and those that don't. As I normally do... before watching the film I watched the trailer. Going by the trailer it looked like it had potential. After watching it I can say while I did enjoy it... I think it should have been better. Going by the trailer alone I would have expected more from it. Going by the reviews I have read I am not surprised. But over-all I would say this one is worth the time put in to watch it.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Four IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer/Intro | Buffy begins college feeling completely overwhelmed. But once the monsters show up, it's just like old times. Then she starts dating Riley, a handsome commando battling the same monsters. He's part of a secret organization called The Initiative and Buffy is all too happy to join the team. But she soon suspects The Initiative may be more dangerous than the monsters they are supposed to be battling... Episodes: 1. The Freshman 2. Living Conditions 3. The Harsh Light of Day 4. Fear itself 5. Beer Bad 6. Wild at Heart 7. The Initiative 8. Pangs 9. Something Blue 10. Hush 11. Doomed 12. A New Man 13. The I in Team 14. Goodbye Iowa 15. This Year's GIrl 16. Who Are You? 17. Superstar 18. Where the Wild Things Are 19. New Moon Rising 20. The Yoko Factor 21. Primeval 22. Restless

Stars:
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Seth Green as Oz
James Marsters as Spike
Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

My Thoughts:

I am now done season 4. While not as good as season 2... I did enjoy this season. The fourth season introduces us to two more major characters. One being Buffy's new boyfriend Riley... and the other being Willow's girlfriend Tara. The last time I watched the entire series was just about a year ago... so it is not surprising how I have gotten into watching the episodes again. I mostly like this season for the season long story arc... but there is a couple episodes that stood out for me. The one standing out the most is the excellent episode Hush. There is one odd thing about this season. And that is the final episode.... Restless. It is a very strange episode where we see the dreams of the group. I still can make heads or tails out of most the stuff that happens in that episode.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Trick 'r Treat (2008/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Warner Home Video, Warner Premiere Director: Michael Dougherty Writing: Michael Dougherty (Writer) Length: 82 min. Rating: Rated R : Horror Violence, Some Sexuality/Nudity and Language Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Dylan Baker as Steven
Rochelle Aytes as Maria
Quinn Lord as Sam/Peeping Tommy
Lauren Lee Smith as Danielle
Moneca Delain as Janet
Tahmoh Penikett as Henry

Plot:
A creepy, darkly comic celebration of the scariest night of the year from producer BRYAN SINGER (director of X-Men and Superman Returns) and writer-director MICHAEL DOUGHERTY (co-scripter of X2 and Superman Returns ). Trick 'R Treat takes the Creepshow/Tales from the Crypt approach to nefarious new depths with four interwoven tales set on Halloween night: a high school principal (DYLAN BAKER) moonlights as a vicious serial killer; the quest of a young virgin (ANNA PAQUIN) for that special someone takes a gruesome turn; a group of teens carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences; and a cantankerous old man (BRIAN COX) battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Animated Short: Season's Greetings with Optional Commentary

My Thoughts:

I always loved anthology horrors. While it is technically an anthology horror... it isn't the way I know anthologies at least. Instead of having 3 or 4 separate short stories along with a wraparound storyline... this one is done more like a regular movie with all the stories intertwined with each other. While not bad... I prefer the traditional format of an anthology. Now with that said... I did enjoy all the stories in it... even though I did have some of the stories figured out ahead of time. I liked the one with the girls finding dates. That storyline has Anna Paquin in it... who I find adorable. I have enjoyed her since I first saw her as Sookie in True Blood. I normally don't go for blondes... but in the case of Anna Paquin I think she looks better as a blonde. Over all I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Five Wikipedia |IMDb |Trailer/Intro | After an unsettling encounter with Dracula, Buffy asks Giles to once again be her Watcher. Luckily he agrees, for Buffy is about to face problems far more threatening than the undead: the sudden arrival of a sister named Dawn, her mother's mysterious illness and Spike's undying devotion. Then an undefeatable demon appears, forcing Buffy to turn to an ancient Spirit Guide who tells her that love is her greatest gift - and power. Episodes: 1. Buffy Vs. Dracula 2. Real Me 3. The Replacement 4. Out Of My Mind 5. No Place Like Home 6. Family 7. Fool For Love 8. Shadow 9. Listening To Fear 10. Into The Woods 11. Triangle 12. Checkpoint 13. Blood Ties 14. Crush 15. I Was Made To Love You 16. The Body 17. Forever 18. Intervention 19. Tough Love 20. Spiral 21. The Weight Of The World 22. The Gift

Stars:
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
James Marsters as Spike
Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

My Thoughts:

I recently finished off the 5th season. With only two more seasons to go I see no sense in not completing the series. This is a season I enjoyed quite a bit. And is the season we are introduced to Buffy's little sister Dawn. I enjoyed most the episodes... but the stand-out episode of the season has to be "The Body"... a very powerful and dramatic episode.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

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I been watching season 6 of Buffy today... sitting here right now watching Once More with Feeling. Lord help me!

Why is it that when watching the complete series of a show like this I just can't skip an episode  I really do not like? It is like I feel like I am cheating or something. 

[Tom]

I been watching season 6 of Buffy today... sitting here right now watching Once More with Feeling. Lord help me!

Why is it that when watching the complete series of a show like this I just can't skip an episode  I really do not like? It is like I feel like I am cheating or something. 

One of my favorite Buffy episodes 

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I swear... this feels like the longest episode in the entire series! 

[Tom]

I swear... this feels like the longest episode in the entire series!  

It actually is (if I remember correctly), not counting multi-parters  

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at least I am not completely crazy then.